Undergarment structure and method of making the same



M y 1964 L. A. ROSNER I 3, 7

UNDERGARMENT STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed June 2, 1961 Scowerih LACE a Pre-Shrinking Finishing Bleochirig.

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LEONARD A. ROSNER United States Patent 3,131,697 UNDERGARMENT STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Leonard Abraham Rosner, Great Neck, N.Y., assignor t0 Glamorise Foundations, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 2, 1961, Ser. No. 114,532 6 Claims. (Cl. 128-517) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in the art of making undergarments for womens wear, such as brassieres, girdles, corsets, corselets, panty girdles, panties, garter belts and other similar garments which are worn in a more-or-less close fitting manner next to the skin.

The invention concerns itself primarily with such garments which utilize in their construction a substantial amount of non-stretchable cloth, although the teachings of the invention are also applicable to non-stretchable cloth portions or panels which are often embodied in garments made mainly of elastically stretchable material.

It has become customary in the art to enhance the appearance of undergarments with lace. In brassieres particularly, the lace edging is commonly used and in some instances entire portions of the garment, for example, upper halves of the breast cups, are made of lace backed with a marquisette or a net for reinforcement.

While the presence of such lace greatly enhances the beauty of the garment and produces a highly aesthetic effect when the garment is worn, it is significant to note that the garment is worn next to the skin and the lace material, with its marquisette or net backing, often causes skin irritation and discomfort. Moreover, the lace material, not having the wearing qualities of cloth, usually wears out prematurely so that the garment has to be discarded. As a result, many women in such instances are inclined to sacrifice beauty for comfort and durability, and resort to wearing a cloth garment without lace.

Some efforts have been made to solve this problem by providing a cloth (broadcloth) backing for the lace material, the theory being that the cloth backing, being next to the skin, would furnish the comfort of a conventional cloth garment and also strengthen and improve the wearing quality of the lace material on the outside of the backing, while the lace material would serve its purpose in beautifying the garment without discomfort and pre mature wear. While in theory this arrangement is well founded, efforts toward making a practical garment of such a construction have not been successful inasmuch as ordinary lace and broadcloth have such different textures and coeilicients of shrinkage that, when united in a garment, they are wholly incompatible when the garment is washed and dried. In other words, the texture and coefficient of shrinkage of ordinary lace is so different from that of ordinary broadcloth that after washing and drying, a garment embodying lace backed with broadcloth loses its proper form, with the lace either stretching or tearing by shrinking more than the broadcloth, or becoming loose, wrinkled and pouchy by shrinking less. In either event, garments utilizing ordinary broadcloth backed lace construction were found to be virtually useless after the first Washing.

The principal object of this invention is to facilitate fabrication of a garment embodying broadcloth backed lace construction wherein the lace enhances the beauty of the garment while the broadcloth provides for comfort and durability, and wherein the lace and broadcloth are fully compatible so that the garment can be repeatedly washed and dried without distortion of form or other damage such as resulted in the aforementioned previous efforts to produce a garment structure of a broadcloth backed lace type.

3,131,697 Patented May 5., 1964 This object of the invention is attained by utilizing a particular kind of lace and broadcloth materials and subjecting the same to certain procedural treatments before they are united in a garment form, the result being such that the united lace and broadcloth are compatible in shrinkage and the garment can be repeatedly washed and dried without form distortion, wrinkling or other damage.

FIGURE 1 in the accompanying drawing diagrammatically illustrates the procedural steps in the treatment of lace and broadcloth in accordance with the invention, and the uniting thereof into a garment form; and

FIGURE 2 shows a skin contacting type undergarment, exemplified by a brassiere, utilizing the lace and broadcloth material of the invention.

The lace material used is an open weave lace such as Rachelle lace, which is first scowered and bleached from the grey in which it comes off the loom. The bleached lace is then pre-shrunk in the warp and filling by as close as possible to 1.9 percent, whereupon the preshrunk lace is pressed or rolled to a finished appearance.

The broadcloth material preferably has a 144 x 76 count and is first treated to a wrinkle-resistant, nonchlorine retentive, wash and wear finish, after which it is also pre-shrunk in the warp by as close as possible to 1.9 percent.

The lace and broadcloth so treated are then superposed with the broadcloth providing backing for the lace and are cut to a desired shape for embodying in a garment. In the fabrication of the garment the lace and broadcloth are stitched together, and since the two materials have been pre-shrunk to a common factor, the compatability of their shrinkage enables them to retain a same size and shape despite repeated washing and drying. As such, a garment embodying the invention may be washed by machine or by hand and drip-dried. It is wrinkle-resistant, shape retaining, comfortable to wear and highly durable, all without sacrificing beauty and attractiveness afforded by the lace.

While in the foregoing there has been disclosed the prefered manner of practicing the invention, various modifications may become apparent to those skilled in art to which the invention relates. Accordingly, it is not desired to limit the invention to this disclosure and various modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a skin contacting undergarment structure, a composite sheet-like member comprising an outer panel of lace and an inner panel of broadcloth constituting a backing for said panel of lace, said lace panel being preshrunk prior to its uniting with said broadcloth panel, said broadcloth panel being pre-shrunk by a common factor as said lace panel prior to its uniting with the lace panel whereby the lace and broadcloth panels may retain the same size and form after they are united, washed and dried, and means securing said lace and broadcloth panels together in intimately united relationship.

2. A method of making a skin contacting undergarment structure having a sheet-like composite member consisting of an outer panel of lace and an inner panel of broadcloth constituting a backing for said panel of lace, said method comprising the steps of pre-shrinking the lace panel prior to its union with the broadcloth panel, pre-shrinking the broadcloth panel by a common factor as said lace panel prior to its union with the lace panel whereby the lace and broadcloth panels may retain the same size and shape after they are united, washed and dried, superposing the lace panel on the broadcloth panel, and securing said panels together in intimately united relationship.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the common factor of pre-shrinking of said lace and broadcloth panels is between one and three percent.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the common factor of pre-shrinking of said lace and broadcloth panels is approximately 1.9 percent.

5. The method as defined in claim 2 wherein said lace and said broadcloth panels are pre-shrunk by a common factor between one and three percent.

6. The method as defined in claim 2 wherein said lace 10 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Martin Nov. 17, 1936 Hatay Feb. 7, 1956 Garson Oct. 28, 1958 Bertrand Nov. 29, 1960 Hilton Mar. 20, 1962 

1. IN A SKIN CONTACTING UNDERGARMENT STRUCTURE, A COMPOSITE SHEET-LIKE MEMBER COMPRISING AN OUTER PANEL OF LACE AND AN INNER PANEL OF BROADCLOTH CONSTITUTING A BACKING FOR SAID PANEL OF LACE, SAID LACE PANEL BEING PRESHRUNK PRIOR TO ITS UNITING WITH SAID BROADCLOTH PANEL, SAID BROADCLOTH PANEL BEING PRE-SHRUNK BY A COMMON FACTOR AS SAID LACE PANEL PRIOR TO ITS UNITING WITH THE LACE PANEL WHEREBY THE LACE AND BROADCLOTH PANELS MAY RETAIN THE SAME SIZE AND FORM AFTER THEY ARE UNITED, WASHED AND DRIED, AND MEANS SECURING SAID LACE AND BROADCLOTH PANELS TOGETHER IN INTIMATELY UNITED RELATIONSHIP. 